French Collection

Pens now in 9th place, but like the Sabres, they have quite a few games in hand on the Isles and Panthers.

Matt Savoie with a shorthanded assist today in a 4-2 win over Swift Current.

Wow, that is pretty good company. The more I see from him the more I want to see him play. Twitter highlights are fine but they just tease me. I want to sit and watch this guy play 60 minutes in Blue and Gold. I know we overvalue our own prospects but this guy has me excited. He may be the future in net.

It’s called Family Day in Ontario today. Many places are closed (govt.) but it’s not mandatory.

I’m not denying he is our best goalie option. He is winning games. I am just saying unless he improves his numbers, the wins will be tougher to come by. They can make the playoffs with him if they continue to score a lot. A sub .900 SV% will be tough to win with in the playoffs. Anyway, this is a Levi thread and he is my guy until we know more.

He hasn’t delivered any big hits, but those lead to injuries and being out of position. He’s looked like a solid 6 Dman to me.

Mighty Mouse Bryson to the rescue with rugged Pilut waiting in the wings.

I like Barzal but this helps the Sabres. I endorse this GIF.

With Jeff’s Carolina roots he could do an episode between 2 Staals.

We get something similar, NHL package from our cable provider, Eastlink. We often get both feeds so I don’t have to listen to PxP guys I don’t like.

Agree, I edited my post. I meant that his run support won’t always be there.

I’ll take wins over SV% every day. However, are wins sustainable with mediocre numbers? He is young enough to improve and I want to see it. He gets a lot of run support that might not always be there.

But he had the same pyjamas as Tavares.

Amerks lose 3-2 in OT to Syracuse. Kulich gets his 12th goal, Rosen assists on it.

Olivier Nadeau with 2A for Gatineau as they win their 10th game in a row.

P.Kane showcasing himself to the Leafs, 3G and 1A vs them today. Sabres can help by retaining salary, Leafs must have a draft pick left in 2026 or 2027.

Yes, forwards only.

Levi has been top notch everywhere he has played, hence the expectations. Most here are familiar with his resume but I’ll revisit some of his highlights. 2019-20 he played tier 2 Junior A to maintain his NCAA eligibility. He was a rookie goalie and won 34 of 37 games with a 1.47 GAA and a .941 SV%. He was league ROY and MVP as well as Canadian Junior Hockey League MVP. He played in the World Junior A Challenge tournament for Canada East, winning tournament MVP. 2020-21 He did not play much due to Covid-19 and an injury. He made Canada’s World Junior team, over a bunch of CHL goalies. He took the net and led Canada to a silver medal. He had a 0.75 GAA and a .964 SV% beating Carey Price’s Canadian record. He was named the tournament’s top goalie. 2021-22 As a freshman he won the Mike Richter award for best goalie in the NCAA. His GAA was 1.54 and SV% was .952. He had better numbers than the goalie who won the Hobey Baker. He also had 10 shutouts. 2022-23 His Northeastern team is not as successful as last year but his numbers have improved as the season has progressed. He has a GAA of 2.24 and a SV% of .933 with 5 shutouts. He was named MVP of the Beanpot tournament. UPL has won awards as well. OHL MVP in his only CHL season. He has led Finland to Gold in the WJC and the World U18. His numbers in the AHL were not good, which probably lowered expectations.

We know the week ahead is a tough one for the Sabres. Florida on Friday on a back to back with Tampa Thursday will be challenging. That one would send a message to the Panthers if they win. The other WC teams’ schedules for the next 7 days are: Pens- Monday vs Isles, Thursday vs Edm, Saturday @ Blues, Sunday vs Tampa -Blues are the weakest opponent, vs Tampa on B2B + travel although Tampa is in the same boat Isles- Monday @ Pens, Wednesday vs Jets, Friday vs LAK, Sunday @ Jets -Spread out schedule, Jets and Kings are tough Caps- Tuesday vs Wings, Thursday vs Ducks, Saturday vs NYR, Sunday @ Sabres -Sabres get them on a B2B + travel Panthers- Monday vs Ducks, Friday vs Sabres -light schedule, only 4 points available Red Wings- Tuesday @ Caps, Thursday vs Rangers, Saturday vs Tampa - 3 games spread out but vs superior opponents

JJP has looked like a lost puppy the last month or so. At least Quinn is getting multiple chances per game.

NU must be weak defensively if they gave up 40+ shots. They give up those kinds of shots a lot. Levi sees a lot of rubber and is the only reason they are ranked in the top 20.

Two versus the Isles plus the Caps game are huge.

For sure. I’m just saying that getting a loser point versus Tampa is OK. As much as I hate the Leafs, their fans more than the team, I want the Sabres to beat the Panthers in this stretch. They just had that swagger the last few games like the Sabres are a pushover. They also need to beat a team they are battling with for the WC spot. Florida runs out of games if they lose a few, the Sabres can put a dagger in their hearts.

Loser points will help in this pursuit. They have some games against good teams that they are not battling with a WC spot with.

Vegas, leading the west with 72 points, would be 7th in the east.